Craft cocktails from the best bars in Copenhagen

Sherry Cask Pickle

Playful flavor pairing

February 27, 2017by Thomas Klem Andersen

The “pickle” category coined by Finnish bartender Eetu Topo from Helsinki calls for 1 part base spirit, half part lengthener, a bar spoon of vinegar and a bar spoon of grain sugar. On request Eetu sent us an aquavit pickle recipe consisting of O.P. Anderson aquavit, fino sherry, sherry vinegar and sugar. We decided to play around to explore the category a bit. After a few tweeks we came up with the Sherry Cask Pickle.

We liked the idea of using sherry vinegar for acidity in an aquavit pickle. Taking a tasty sherry balsamic vinegar from Hindberg and Vanilla as a starting point it seemed obvious to try a version with Lysholm Linie aquavit which has been aged in sherry casks. It turned out however that the original Linie aquavit was a bit to coarse on it’s caraway notes to fit the bill according to Eetu’s original specifications. This makes sense as the O.P. Anderson aquavit that Eetu suggested in his recipe is a considerably milder aquavit in comparison to the Linie. To bring the flavor components closer together we decided to use one of the new double cask aged linie aquavits (the double cask port) and sweeten the drink with a flavorful cherry syrup rather than pure grain sugar. The double cask aged Linie aquavit is naturally more round and smooth compared to the single barrel aged version. This makes it blend in well with the other ingredients leaving you with a holistic feel where the caraway notes of the aquavit are balanced well with the other components of the mix.

“Ingredients that share the same genealogy botanically also seem to share a lot of the same flavor molecules. We found that caraway combines well with almond in terms of flavor. As almond, cherry and abricot all are in the “prunus” family they all combine well with aquavit” – Rasmus Poulsgaard, Duck and Cover

I believe that true mastery eventually leads to original creation given the right conditions. I love creative cocktails that push the limits of flavor pairing. But I can't deny I have a personal preference for whisky and love everything that is clear and stirred.